NOTTS TAKE NARROW ADVANTAGE INTO FINAL DAY

Nottinghamshire will go into the third day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford with a slender lead over their hosts.

Batting for a second time, the home county had reached 58 for two, still six runs behind Notts, when rain brought a premature close at tea.

Earlier, Notts had been bowled out for 222 in their first innings, with Riki Wessels making 44 and Tom Moores 38.

The overnight pairing of Wessels and Moores guided Notts safely though the first hour of the day, closing in on – and then overtaking - the Lancashire first innings score of 158.

Wessels had hit Joe Mennie away for four from the first ball of the day, with the opening over leaking 10 runs. The batsmen flourished in increasingly gloomy conditions and the floodlights were on within 20 minutes of the start.

Lead secured, Moores then greeted the introduction into the attack of Keaton Jennings with two high quality strokes.

A driven four through the covers was followed up by a huge six over midwicket; the ball landing in the unoccupied temporary stand and stubbornly remained hidden for several minutes beneath the 4,000 empty seats.

After a partnership of 82 Wessels departed, given out lbw for 44 against the off spin of Liam Livingstone; despite angling his attack from around the wicket.

Luke Wood joined Moores and the two young left-handers safely brought up the county’s first batting point of the summer for reaching 200.

The morning session ended around half an hour early due to bad light, with rain beginning to fall shortly afterwards.

Conditions improved sufficiently for play to resume soon after lunch and the Nottinghamshire innings was soon wrapped up.

Wood made eight before nicking Livingstone to slip, with the same bowler ending the innings with figures of three for 27 when he had Jake Ball stumped for nine.

Joe Mennie (3-46) took the other wicket to fall, bowling Moores for 38. Soon after hitting the young keeper-batsman in the helmet he fired one into the stumps after the left-hander had wandered outside the off stump looking to deflect the ball away fine.

Batting again, with a deficit of 64, Lancashire’s pair of Test openers wiped out 49 of them, either side of a further 20-minute stoppage for bad light.

Harry Gurney (2-17) ended their partnership and then struck again moments later. Firstly Haseeb Hameed (19) was caught behind and then ‘keeper Moores grabbed another catch, this time down the leg side as Alex Davies fell to a fifth ball duck.

Rain began to fall steadily during the tea break and the whole of the final session was lost, with Keaton Jennings remaining unbeaten on 27.